The Sweet Surprise of Friendship
The ability to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable, whether for an impromptu cup of coffee or a planned dinner party, is a gift. Entertaining can be a wee bit nerve wracking for even the most seasoned of hosts. Is there enough white wine, or will our guests prefer only red this time? Should we have more vegetarian-friendly options? Will our friends, old and new, get along?
While I'm frantically prepping and fretting over such concerns, my friend Terri, hostess extraordinaire, is relaxed and already enjoying herself before her first guest arrives. She can work her magic on introverts and extroverts alike because she is endowed with special superpowers: a warm personality and a sense of humor. She's funny and charming, and most of all real. She doesn't flinch at others' foibles nor does she cover up her own life hiccups. Terri's narrative flair only adds to her appeal. She can recount a trip to the post office in such witty detail to be worthy of a comedy series. Think Curb Your Enthusiasm meets Modem Family meets Schitt's Creek.
I met Terri over a quarter century ago through her sister Patti and husband Tim, who happened to be our first friends as well as our next-door neighbors in our newly adopted town. We were lucky enough to be enveloped into their collective family immediately. Patti and Terri pulled me into their sisterhood, which I only too happily joined. I love my only sibling Stephen but always wanted a sister, a cool, older sister. Having two gal pals who are more like sisters for almost three decades is a gift I'm not sure I deserve but am happy to have. People with whom I can commiserate over life's frustrations and celebrate its joys, even at the most unpleasant hours, is one of life's happy footnotes if we're lucky.
Since 1993 we have called Easton, Maryland, home and for almost as long we have shared Christmases and Easters, as well as a few spontaneous get-togethers and major milestones, with this special group of people. It’s a rare and fine thing to live in a place long enough to have good friends that you consider family. As far as Terri is concerned, all are invited and that includes my 86-year old mom and any other family members who happen to be visiting us at the moment. A stranger is only someone Terri hasn’t met yet, and while I’d like to attribute these amazing qualities to the fact that Terri is a from-here native and not a come-here transplant like we are, she was born with an innate ability to be comfortable in any situation and to make others feel the same.
Her exceptional party skills rival that of any professional event planner. Her floral arrangements are picked from her garden and look ready for a magazine cover. Her tables are laden with appetizers, main dishes, and dessert - each in their own room! The finger foods have everyone asking, “what is this?” while helping themselves to seconds and thirds. At the smaller get-togethers that I love the most with our Eastern Shore family, tradition reigns supreme. You can count on Miss Joan’s crab balls, Daddy Ladd’s smoked duck, and Mary’s sausage dip. Grilled oysters sit alongside bacon-wrapped scallops. Dips abound. And when it comes to the main meal itself, there remains one constant that I seek out time and again: baked pineapple. It’s no wonder the symbol of hospitality has a place on the table of a consummate hostess who wants nothing more than to feed her guests. The dish compliments Easter ham as easily as Christmas Eve tenderloin or turkey. With the consistency of a bread pudding, it’s dessert-adjacent without ruining the sweet craving that follows and leaving plenty of room for the after. Simple and sweet, the dish is one of the first I remember when our long, fun ride together began.
While the recipe can be found in plenty of cookbooks and online, it reminds me of the beloved “fourth item” beautifully recounted by the late, great Nora Ephron from her friend and cookbook author Lee Bailey. He would add one more dish to the traditional protein/starch/vegetable trio that brought a magical touch to the meal. This “fourth item” of Terri’s is a sweet surprise that fits perfectly, regardless of the menu. Much like Terri herself.
